Established in 1951, and member of the United Nations since September 2016, IOM is the leading UN agency in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

Background

For decades, Rwandans have been migrating into different parts of the world for political, social or economic reasons. This migratory dynamics dates back to pre-colonial times and became more important during the colonial period and especially since 1960s and beyond, including the large outflow as a result of the genocide again the Tutsi. As a result, Rwanda has a strong diaspora community in various countries across the world, with major concentrations in neighbouring countries, Western and Central Europe and North America.

The Rwandan diaspora registers an evolving important role in the national development of their nation. This importance is envisaged in various sectors of Rwanda such as: education, health, private sector development, business and investment, knowledge transfers, image building, culture development, remittances, mobilization of foreign investments etc. Over a period of time therefore, the contributions from the diaspora in different sectors may increase significantly Rwanda’s social-economic development through sending remittances, investing in various sectors of the country’s economy, as well as increase knowledge and skills transfer to institutions.

Many of the diaspora members are also interested to participate and engage themselves in different developmental activities in Rwanda. However, lack of information on the country’s developmental process by the diaspora and notably the poor knowledge on the composition of the Rwandan diaspora living abroad are among the factors that hindered the maximum utilization of the Rwanda diaspora to the country’s development.

Rationale:

Realizing the importance of the Rwandan diaspora in the national development and in the spirit of the policy of inclusion, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) strongly believes that the Rwandan diaspora is an important constituent that cannot be ignored and which, if it is well harnessed, can contribute to national socio-economic development.

In this regard, the government is therefore committed to the mobilization of its diaspora so as to help it organize itself and build its capacity so that it can play its role in the development of the country through financial transfers (remittances), technology, knowledge and skills transfers.

To enable this initiative, the Government developed a diaspora policy in 2009 which sets out how the government wishes to see the diaspora being integrated into the national development frameworks particularly the current EDPRS and Vision 2020.

Also, it is important to note that since the first Rwanda Day in 2010, the National Bank of Rwanda has calculated that remittance receipts have increased at a rate of at least 10% since 2010 to date. The amount remitted grew from $98.2 million in 2010 to $167.3[1] million in 2016 leading to a growth of remittance receipts by 7.7% an indication of the importance of the diaspora for a country’s economic growth.

Regarding knowledge and skills transfer which in the past has been done through volunteer services (like in MIDA or TOKTEN programs) and produced positive results through short-term consultancy services or partnership between local and diaspora professionals organizations is another important sector that should be embraced for the diaspora to participate in their country’s development[2]. The selected destination countries to conduct the mapping exercise for Rwanda diaspora are Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK).

[1] MINECOFFIN 2016

[2] IOM-MIDA Health 2012

III. RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

The main objectives of this mapping exercise are therefore to establish/estimate the number, gender, professional skills and specific area of training of the Rwandan diaspora living in Belgium and identify their capacity, interests and motivation to participate and engage in developmental activities of Rwanda such as business and investment as well as skills transfer.

Purpose

The main purpose of the mapping exercise is to produce a comprehensive report that will contribute to a Migration Profile of Rwanda. The report with be used further to guide the design of potential diaspora engagement programme interventions in Rwanda to enable the diaspora to participate and engage in the developmental process of the country through providing training of trainers in technical and vocational education and training institutions (TVET) such as engineering, mechanics, plumbing to mention but a few.

Methodology

The methodology proposed is:

a) Conduct a desk literature review on existing information and sources on Rwandan diaspora in Belgium

b) Reflect the current situation of migrants in Belgium

c) Conduct interviews with Rwandan diaspora members ensuring a representative sample of target population by taking into account gender, location, profession and length of time in above mentioned countries

d) Conduct group discussions with Rwandan professional and social diaspora associations in cities where Rwandan diasporas are predominantly living to identify their interests

g) Present the report to the stakeholders (IOM, the Rwandan Embassy in Belgium and to association representatives) for feedback

h) Incorporate feedback from the stakeholders to improve the quality of the report

i) Present the final draft to the stakeholders and submit to IOM-Belgium for submission to IOM Rwanda and other stakeholders.

Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment with delivery timeframes (running concurrently). Timeframes below are the deadlines from the beginning of the work (dates to be determined at the beginning of the contract as part of the work-plan):

Output / Deliverables

As a result of the mapping exercise a report containing the following elements is expected to be produced at the end of the mapping exercise:

a) A summary of Rwandan diaspora situations in Belgium

b) An estimation of the number and composition (profession, gender, age, skills, numbers and location.) of the diaspora. The report should also provide information on diaspora associations living in Belgium

c) An outline of levels of awareness of the diaspora regarding the available opportunities and facilities in Rwanda that would enable them to engage in development process of their country

d) Present a clear picture of the gaps of the diaspora awareness and knowledge about Rwanda’s current economic and social development

e) Provide suggestions if possible about the diasporas’ expectations from the government of Rwanda that would allow them to equally participate in the country’s development

f) The report should indicate which professional sectors/fields the diaspora members have been trained in, and if they are interested in skills and knowledge transfer in case of diaspora engagement. The report should also demonstrate their willingness of the skilled diaspora to engage in skills and knowledge transfer in Rwanda

g) Identify other than skills and knowledge transfer, which other areas does the diaspora want to contribute to for social-economic development of the country and how they want to be facilitated.

Time frame

The time frame for the completion of the mapping exercise would be a total of three months. It is envisioned that this exercise will commence at the begging of March 2018 to the end of May 2018. The breakdown of the above timeframe is as follows:

a) A period of 60 days to conduct the following:

i. Interviews with the diaspora members, the Rwandan Embassy officials in Belgium,

ii. Group discussions in states/cities where more Rwanda diasporas reside, these states shall be determined in consultations with the identified consultant; and

Prepare the first draft report and share with IOM and other stakeholders for example Rwandan Embassy and Diaspora Associations for feedback.

How the work must be delivered:

All outputs shall be validated and approved by IOM-Belgium.

Performance indicators for evaluation of results:

Participate in validation meetings as maybe required and provide technical inputs to migration profile in close collaboration with the national consultant under the direct supervision of IOM.